The times when a little politics is good in Estes Park

Posted:
04/25/2014 09:30:29 AM MDT

We can look through our American History texts from years ago and see lots of times when we messed things up through our political shenanigans. We can't avoid seeing non-stop ridiculous behavior whenever we look to the east and Washington, D.C.

Then we read about Governor Nixon of Missouri being impeached this week for providing equal rights to same sex marriage couples, something that many other states have already accomplished. The yeggs are at it again and making a mockery of a once proud and successful Republican Party. We need a two party system to make things work best, and the miscreants are tearing down the party of Abraham Lincoln.

So when is a good time for political activity in Estes Park? When it is not really political. That has happened since September in our town.

Voters rallied behind recovery efforts with bold statements at the polls and with volunteer efforts that had no relationship to partisan politics. Mayor Pinkham said at the Wednesday afternoon ground breaking for the Anschutz/ Stanley/ EPMC Wellness Center dedication that people didn't have time to consider who was to blame or who needed to help or who was responsible for what. No blame gaming.

Governor Hickenlooper said much the same when he declared that Estes Park had suffered a serious blow with fires and then the flood. But people rallied and didn't take the time or show interest in acting too politically. The theme of Mountain Strong that so many embraced rang clear and mammoth progress has been made.

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Companies like the Peter Kiewit Construction Company the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency cooperated totally and are still doing so. So where are the politics, you say?

They are seen in people working effectively together in myriad ways. That is the nature of the polity. When the Greeks philosophized about demoskratia, they envisioned people together making things work through cooperation and compromise. That was the 2500 year old model of how a people should live together in harmony.

So that is politics, but politics that actually work with little diversion.

Town Trustee John Ericson described the very fast reaction that continues with extensive business leadership. He described how the Governor beat the planned deadline for re-opening Highways 34 and 36 by a wide margin. Imagine that, way ahead of schedule!

Dr. Wayne Parks described at the Governor's reception at the Stanley Hotel Wednesday night that Estes Park had clearly changed for the better after the catastrophic flood.

Town Administrator Frank Lancaster said weeks ago that we have the challenge now of continuing this wonderful sense that so many felt after the landslide victories, all spelling PROGRESS that happened on April 1.

Election leaders on both sides of ballot issues almost uniformly have called for "Win, lose or draw, after the ballots are cast, we all must move forward together."

Wednesday the editorial board of the Trail Gazette spent almost four hours interviewing four Hospital Board candidates. The procedures used were seriously conducted by the editorial board members and will be used in endorsing candidates, another example of politics and democracy working well in Estes Park.

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